Holiday Traditions

I absolutely love traditions and my cousin is definitely more obsessed than I. So on my Dad's side of the family we have a number of traditions that sticks around. Here are a couple:

• My cousin has dubbed it Christmas Tree Morning. Everyone gathers at Cracker Barrel the morning after Thanksgiving. After we chow down on some good ol' Southern breakfast complete with grits and biscuits, we start Christmas tree shopping. (My goodness I'm really craving some biscuits now!) I have a pretty vocal family and when all of us gather together to do anything it's too much fun. Also, there's a constant battle over the size of the tree, and when the kids win there's always strategic maneuvering on how to get it into the house. 
• Christmas morning my family opens present at our house. We open each present one and at a time. I love it because there's no rushing around ripping through presents and you get to watch the genuine excitement on the face of the person who's opening the present. Once all of the presents are opened we head over to my grandparents' house. Everyone (my dad has 4 brothers and a sister) meets for breakfast and brings a dish. Let me tell you, there is some good food in that kitchen! Presents come after we eat, and all in all its one of my favorite traditions. My grandparents don't have a large house, but I absolutely love being crammed into their living room with at least 5 of us (grandkids) sitting on the coach together and wrapping paper covering the floor. Although half of us grandkids are "adults" now, Christmas morning hasn't changed one bit and I love that!

I'm anxious and excited about the traditions RC and I will start together. We have no idea where we will be next Christmas or if we will be able to get home. Although I'm anxious that these family traditions I mentioned may not be apart of my Christmas next year, I'm excited that RC and I will be starting our own. It's a little bittersweet, but we've already promised each other than we will be making a big deal out of Christmas. Even though we won't have children that's no reason to lighten the Christmas festivities. I don't have many of my old pictures on my Mac yet, but here's a picture of RC and I in our Tacky Christmas sweaters! :)